Out and Out
by Angevon
Summary: Souji and Yosuke officially reveal their relationship to the Investigation Team. And some others...? [SoujiXYosuke]


[AN: This is part of a series. Please see my author profile for the reading order! It follows directly after "The Search for Souji's Girlfriend."]

* * *

Yosuke paused at the top of the stairwell, right before the door that led to the school's roof. He didn't really want to go up there and meet with the others... He'd seen how Chie kept looking at him in class today when she thought he wouldn't notice. Curious and suspicious all at the same time, like he might do a funny trick or something...

"Are you all right?" his boyfriend asked from a few steps behind.

Yosuke nervously brushed a hand through his floppy brown hair as he glanced back at Souji. "Y-yeah... It almost feels like I'm taking you home to meet my parents or something..."

"We could do that after," Souji suggested with a teasing smile.

"No. Way." Yosuke crossed his arms and glared at him, and Souji laughed, soft and rumbling, and his ease in laughing just made Yosuke's anxiety worse. How could his partner be totally okay with coming out to their friends...?

"Come on," Souji said. "Or I'll start kissing you. And then they'll wonder where we are, and open the door, and..."

"All right, all right!" Yosuke grumbled. Although that sounded kind of tempting...

"Don't worry, we can make out later," Souji told him, brushing his fingers across Yosuke's cheek.

Yosuke blushed hard. Had he said that out loud? He shook his head and opened the stairwell door with determination. Luckily the winter wind gave him an excuse to have flushed cheeks. It was a breezy day, or maybe it felt that way due to the sudden transition from warm school stairwell to cold rooftop.

Chie and Yukiko were sitting next to each other, matching bookends in green and red. Next to Yukiko was Naoto, looking warm in her cardigan coat—shouldn't she be in her school uniform...? Next to Chie was Rise who was sitting casually with her hands in her lap. Kanji wasn't there, and Yosuke wondered if Souji hadn't invited him or if he just couldn't make it because he had to help his mom with the shop.

"Uh, hey guys," Yosuke greeted. He crossed his arms again and waited for Souji to catch up and join the group. The next thing he knew, though, Souji was embracing him from behind, looking at their friends over his shoulder. "D-dammit, Souji!"

"I just wanted to make an announcement," Souji said, not letting Yosuke go, although, to his credit, Yosuke wasn't struggling or anything. "Yosuke and I are dating."

Yosuke closed his eyes in fear of everyone's reaction. "Relax," Souji whispered in his ear, squeezing him a little tighter. His breath was so warm... Yosuke forced himself to release his own held breath and to reopen his eyes.

"Well, that is kinda what we were talking about before you finally got here," Chie said with a small laugh. She stretched her legs out before her and then bent them again. "That was a pretty passionate kiss yesterday. I mean, wow."

"I can't believe I missed it," Yukiko said. She looked thoroughly depressed about missing it, too.

"It kind of shook my world," Chie admitted. "But you guys were always pretty close, so... It makes sense in retrospect. Right, Rise?" She turned her head to look at the idol next to her.

"Oh, Senpai." Rise sighed. "I should've known that you were, umm... But I see why you didn't want to tell us. I'm sorry, Senpai, and Yosuke-senpai, too."

Her slap yesterday had stung, but Yosuke told her there was no harm done. "I'm just glad you didn't use your nails..." he muttered.

"We didn't want to tell anyone," Souji continued, "until we were sure ourselves that this was what we wanted."

"And it is," Yosuke added, lifting his head and daring anyone to challenge it. "Souji is _mine._"

"It looks more like you're Souji's, to me," Chie commented with a snicker.

Yosuke scowled and tried to wriggle out of his boyfriend's arms, but it didn't work because he didn't really want to get out. Besides, all it did was make Souji hold him tighter, and heck any tighter and he might not be able to breathe.

"So," said Souji. "Any questions?"

"What?" Yosuke protested. "They don't need to know any more than this!"

"How long have you been together, anyway?" Chie asked.

Naoto spoke up. "I suspect the pair has been together since on or around New Year's."

"Damn, Naoto," Yosuke said. "How in the world...?"

She nodded to herself with a smug smile.

Chie raised another question. "And are you two happy?"

"Hell yes!" Yosuke exclaimed. "Uh, I mean... Y-yeah..." Chie was now laughing at him. He felt his face get warm. He hadn't meant to be so enthusiastic. God, that was embarrassing...

"Mmm-hmm..." Souji rubbed his face against Yosuke's. Ah, maybe that was even more embarrassing. Any minute now, Yosuke suspected, Souji would start kissing him in front of everyone. He would just die of mortification.

"So..." Rise began. "How far have you gone, Senpai?" She spoke in a very playful tone of voice. She seemed to have recovered from the news rather quickly... but that was Risette for you—always bouncing back.

"We're mostly just at the kissing stage," Souji replied promptly.

"D-don't tell them that!" Yosuke squawked, face coloring further.

"But I think we'll soo—unf!" Yosuke cut Souji off by kicking him in the shin with his heel and breaking away from his embrace.

"Private life is private, okay!?" Yosuke declared. "No one needs to know that!"

Souji started laughing even as he stood on one leg to massage his injured shin.

Yosuke glared at him.

"I'm sorry, Yosuke," Souji said, managing a half-way sincere look somehow.

"Ahh, whatever," Yosuke muttered.

"You should kiss and make up!" Chie suggested.

Yosuke whirled and turned his scowl on her. "No way!" She was grinning at him like a shark, and Yukiko was nodding next to her in support, apparently eager to see what she'd missed the previous day. His indignation evaporated as he realized that if they were teasing him about it... that meant they accepted it, that he and Souji were a couple, and that made him... kind of light-headed with relief.

Unless they were teasing him because they didn't think he was serious. He wouldn't put it past them. He glanced at Souji, who was still bent on the floor and rubbing his shin. Man, he hadn't hit him _that_ hard... He wasn't Chie! Yosuke stepped over to him, and when the silver-haired boy looked up, met him with a kiss. A simple kiss, just lips on lips, but he felt Souji smile into it and that warmed him up more than the New Years amazake.

...He almost forgot the others were there until Naoto ahem'd. Yosuke broke away. All four of the girls were blushing. Chie and Naoto were looking at the floor, Yukiko was giggling into her hand, and Rise was fanning her face.

"W-well," Chie said, scratching her head sheepishly. "I was kind of joking, haha..."

Then Yosuke's cell phone rang. He checked the name. It was his dad, which meant his day was about to be ruined. With a belabored sigh he excused himself from the group and answered it.

And he was right. He returned to them less than a minute later to inform them he had to leave—someone had called out at Junes and he had to make up the shift. "Sorry, partner..." he told Souji. "I guess I'll call you later."

Souji saw him off with a light peck on the cheek. "I'll hold you to it."

Yosuke turned to the girls awkwardly. "Umm, see you, I guess."

Yukiko started snickering for no apparent reason—maybe Chie whispered something at her—and he left before it turned into the inevitable laughing fit.

* * *

Souji remained on the roof with the four girls. Rise patted the spot next to her. "Senpai?" Souji sat there, and she hesitantly laid her hand on his forearm. "Senpai... I should've known that you were... I've seen all kinds of people in the business, but I didn't realize at all..."

Souji smiled at her, not unkindly. "It's not something I like to advertise, you understand. But I've known for a while that I... prefer men. That's why I didn't exactly... respond to you."

"Y-yeah..." Rise murmured with pink cheeks. "I understand now..."

"But now the big question is, why Yosuke?" Chie said with a laugh.

"Yeah, really!" Rise said, eager to know.

Souji opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted.

"It's obvious, Chie." Everyone, including Souji, turned to look at Yukiko as she spoke. "Yosuke-kun is his prince."

"That's..." Chie said, eyes wide. It was strange to hear Yukiko reference her own Shadow, but Yukiko was like that sometimes...

"Or, maybe he's Yosuke-kun's prince." Yukiko paused. "I haven't _quite_ decided."

Souji smiled at Yukiko, full of warmth. "Exactly. Yosuke and I look out for each other. He said it first—we're partners. I know he's not perfect—no one's perfect—and maybe he does speak without thinking—but he's honest. He's hard-working; we all know that. And he's brave, too. He allowed himself to explore his feelings, to find out that he liked me, too, even though he was scared." Souji sighed, but he was still smiling. "I'm not sure I've ever been happier."

"You've clearly deliberated this," Naoto noted. "We know you are not one to rush into things."

"Love isn't about thinking, Naoto-kun," Rise chided. "You justify it after the fact." She giggled. "Face it, Senpai—you just thought Yosuke was cute, and then it built from there."

"Well, maybe," Souji admitted. "His hair is so soft, and whenever those pretty brown eyes catch mine, I—" He was blushing now. "Yeah, maybe."

"And every time he called you 'partner,' your heart fluttered a little more, is that right?" Now Chie was giggling too. She apologized for it. "I'm sorry. It's still a little funny. I mean, _our_ Yosuke..."

"I don't mind," Souji told her. "I understand that it might take some getting used to. But it's serious... so please don't tease him too much about it."

The girls agreed, and then the subject changed to Valentine's Day, which was coming up soon...

* * *

After school on Saturday, Souji invited Yosuke to the Samegawa riverbank, where he laid out a blanket over the snow-covered grass. It was a mild day. Not warm enough to melt the snow, but not cold enough to prevent them from enjoying the outdoors. They sat together on the blanket, watching the clouds and birds go by, talking about little, mostly-unimportant things...

And holding hands. And leaning against each other. And sometimes kissing.

"Tomorrow," Souji said. "You're coming over, right? You promised... We'll make a snowman with Nanako?"

"Snow bunny," Yosuke corrected. "And yeah, I'm just gonna, you know, not answer if my dad calls. Heh."

"Good." Souji brushed his nose against Yosuke's ear. "Maybe you could stay overnight again?"

"Ah, that..." Yosuke cleared his throat. The last time he'd stayed over, they'd finished one of Souji's model kits. Yosuke had been unsure of their relationship then, had been afraid to even let Souji touch him... It would be different this time, but he knew Souji wouldn't make him do anything he wasn't ready for. "I'd like to, but I don't know. It depends on my family. Someone has to watch Teddie, you know. And won't you have to get Dojima-san's permission?"

"I don't think he'll mind too much. As long as we stay quiet. Well, just let me know when you can..."

Yosuke promised that he would, and then started thinking about how he'd ask his mom for permission.

Something rustled in the snow behind them. A week ago, Yosuke might have frantically pulled himself away from Souji, but no more. If he was serious about this—and he was—he had to be brave. Besides, they were sitting on the same blanket, anyway.

An elderly white dog circled them. Yosuke recognized it as Chie's. "Muku?" The dog sniffed his outstretched legs and wagged its tail.

Soon enough Chie was calling after it. "Muku! Get back here! Oh, it's you two. Oh... Oh!" She spied how close they were. "S-Sorry, I didn't know you were... Eh heh." She tilted her head and scratched it in embarrassment.

"You don't have to leave," Souji told her. "This is Muku? The dog you found with Yukiko?" Souji patted its head with his free hand and the dog leaned into him happily.

"It's really weird to see you guys like this," Chie said. "Umm, no offense! I don't think Yosuke is the romantic type, is all. A walk in the park is probably beyond him."

"What—?" Yosuke protested. "Hey, I'm plenty romantic! I'm way more romantic than you, you kung fu nut."

"Oh? Have you brought Souji-kun flowers yet?" Chie teased.

"What... Why would I do that?" Yosuke seemed surprised.

Chie snorted. "Told ya."

"A guy bringing a guy flowers?" Yosuke muttered. "That's just... weird..."

"I like carnations," Souji told him. "But roses are always good. Or maybe... chrysanthemums."

"What the hell, man?" Yosuke glared at him.

Souji kissed him high on the neck.

"Dude, not in front of Chie!" Yosuke blushed and leaned away.

"Ahaha," Chie laughed. "I was just going. Have fun, you two! Come, Muku!"

"Bring me some flowers," Souji pleaded after she had left.

"Dude, no."

Souji whined much like a dog and nuzzled his neck further.

"Ugh, seriously?" Yosuke complained.

* * *

They cuddled for a while until Souji told him it was time for their appointment with Kanji.

"Ah, I don't really want to..." Yosuke muttered. One, it was really comfortable here leaning next to Souji, and two, he was well-aware of how hypocritical his past treatment of Kanji was.

"I'd rather we told him ourselves," Souji said, "instead of waiting for the girls to tell him. Don't you think so?"

Yosuke sighed his agreement and followed Souji to Tatsumi Textiles, where Kanji's kind old mother met them. She directed them to go right on into the back, and Souji led the way down the hall to the living room. It had a small, old-fashioned TV, a short table, two couches, and a cabinet in the corner. Kanji was seated on the floor in the front of the table, sorting through the sewing supplies strewn all over it.

"Yo, Senpai. Oh, and Yosuke-senpai." Kanji's eyebrows drew together, well, more together than they naturally were. "Yosuke-senpai wants to learn this, too?"

"I'm just visiting," Yosuke assured him, trying his best not to sound rude by declining. "I was, ah, curious. Do you mind if I stay?"

Kanji rolled his heavy shoulders in a shrug. "Not a prob."

Yosuke made himself comfortable on the far couch and put his headphones on. He kept the music's volume low so that he could still take part in the conversation.

"So... sewing, right?" Kanji asked. "You got any experience at all, Senpai?"

"A little," Souji said. "Sometimes when I was a kid I had to take care of small tears in my clothes. Mostly just patch jobs, nothing fancy." Yosuke raised an eyebrow at this. Souji always took very good care of his clothes. Maybe that was why.

The bleach-blond boy nodded. "You know how to thread a needle, then. The hardest part, sometimes. We'll just do some running stitches today, easy stuff. You'll get it real fast, Senpai."

Despite the assurance, it didn't turn out to be that easy for Souji because, well, because he was Souji.

"Senpai, you're not supposed to put the needle back through like that!"

"But it's not perfect..." Souji growled. "It's a millimeter away from where I meant to put it!"

Kanji scratched his head, obviously unsure what to say to that. "'S just practice, Senpai, doesn't have to be perfect. Besides, dependin' on the material, that'd leave extra holes in the fabric."

"Is this that sort of material?"

"Well, no," Kanji admitted, "but it's a bad habit to get into, undoing stitches."

"Don't care," Souji said under his breath, pulling hard on one of the stitches in the material he was working with. "Has to be _just right._"

Yosuke snorted, unable to contain his amusement any longer. When the two boys looked at him, he told Kanji he was being way too patient with Souji. "Just tell him to stop being a dumbass and finish the damn stitching."

"Yosuke!" Souji looked and sounded offended.

By now Souji had unraveled half of his work in frustration. Looking at it, Kanji suggested that maybe a sewing machine would be better for him.

Souji sighed. "Thanks for the lesson, anyway, Kanji."

"Something Souji isn't perfect at!" Yosuke declared. "Finally!"

Souji glanced at him, unamused. "Well, if that's it for the day... We have something to tell you, Kanji."

"O-oh, right," Yosuke muttered, looking away from the both of them.

"Yeah, senpai?" Kanji began to put away his sewing needles in a little blue case that was designed to contain them. Then he picked up the spool Souji had used and ensured that the thread's end was secured on the rim before putting it into a sewing case that already contained dozens of other spools in a magnificent array of colors.

"Yosuke and I are, well, dating," Souji said, his cheeks just a little pink.

Kanji paused for just a moment, then closed the lid to the sewing case. "Doesn't take Naoto to figure that one out, Senpai. No offense."

Yosuke gaped at him. "You knew!?" Did Kanji, like, have a sixth sense for people who went that way? Probably did, probably from his Persona...

"'S pretty obvious. You two're always together, always lookin' at each other..." Kanji scratched his nose. "Look, I know people don't think I'm the brightest, but I ain't stupid, alright? It does help," he added, "that we caught you kissin' at the food court the other day."

"We are the opposite of subtlety, partner," Yosuke said with a sigh.

"Look, if it's what you want," Kanji said, "It don't really matter to me."

"Thank you, Kanji," Souji said. "We appreciate your support."

Kanji grunted, stood up, and hefted the heavy sewing case with ease to the cabinet in the room. Souji stood up, too, left the room, and returned a moment later with a broom and dustpan.

He handed the broom to Yosuke. "Actually, I need get back home," Souji said. "I promised Nanako-chan I'd be home in time for dinner. You can take care of clean up, right Yosuke?"

"Like I don't sweep enough at Junes," Yosuke muttered under his breath. He took the broom anyway and stood up to start sweeping. He was aware after the third stroke that Souji was still standing there, staring at him. "What, partner? Go on, I don't really mind."

Souji brought his fingers up to his own lips. He wanted a goodbye kiss.

Yosuke's eyes flitted to Kanji, who was putting away some fabric that they hadn't used. Not in front of him!

Souji sighed and told him he'd see him tomorrow. Yosuke nodded and went back to sweeping.

After he gathered a pile of dust, he set the broom aside and picked up the dustpan that Souji had left on the table. Kanji then took the broom to sweep the other side of the room.

Yosuke knew he shouldn't ask. He really shouldn't, but he was too curious, so he had to. "Say, Kanji... We aren't blind either. What's the deal with you and Naoto, anyway?"

Kanji's shoulders hunched defensively, but he didn't stop sweeping, though his grip on the handle was much tighter now. "None of your damned business."

"But you like her, right?" Yosuke asked, waving around the dustpan. "You've always liked her?"

"What's it matter to you?" Kanji growled.

"S-Sorry, I just..." Yosuke groped for the words he wanted to say. 'How does that even work?' – true, but Kanji would take that the wrong way. "I'm just wondering how you knew... that you liked her... even before you knew she was... pleasedon'thitme." He cringed.

"Just knew," Kanji answered simply. Yosuke opened his eyes and Kanji was still calmly sweeping. "Didn't think about it. Sometimes peoples' problems is just thinkin' too hard."

"I bet Naoto thinks too hard, too."

"Prob'ly," Kanji agreed. "It's her job."

Yosuke wondered if Kanji would ever tell her. He wondered if he should try to encourage him to tell her. But he knew if people got into his and Souji's business, he would not appreciate it... And whether Naoto was completely oblivious to Kanji's feelings or just playing oblivious was a mystery of its own. Yosuke wasn't close enough to her to find out, and the next closest was Rise, who probably wasn't going to be friendly to him for claiming Souji.

"Hey, Kanji..." Yosuke tipped the dustpan's contents into the trash bin, and then glanced at the boy. "Thanks. For... umm... For being cool. With me and Souji."

Kanji snorted. "Better not hear any more 'bout my Shadow from you, senpai."

"You got it!" Yosuke promised quickly. He punctuated it with a nervous laugh. Yeah, he had totally forfeited his right to rag on Kanji...

* * *

It was Sunday. Yosuke arrived at the door to the Dojima residence, hiding a bundle under his school jacket. Souji grinned wolfishly when he answered the door and saw it. "Oh? What's this?" he asked.

"Nuh-uh!" Yosuke danced to keep the bundle out of Souji's reach as he entered the house. "Nanako-chan!" he called.

"Yosuke-nii?" Nanako-chan turned off the television and raced towards him, stopping when she saw that his hands were full. Her eyes widened with curiosity.

Souji watched with silent amusement. Yosuke ignored him. "Nanako-chan," he said. "I got something for you."

"For me?" Her soft brown eyes widened further.

Yosuke drew the jacket off the bundle dramatically, revealing a bouquet of fresh-cut yellow and purple irises.

The girl buried her nose in the soft petals. "They smell so nice! Thank you, Yosuke-nii!"

"Come on, let's set them up." Yosuke set the flowers down on the dining room table, brought out a vase made of sturdy green glass from his backpack, filled it halfway with water from the kitchen sink, and then put the flowers in the vase, fussing with them for a bit to fluff them out. They'd wilted a little while under his jacket.

"Big bro, aren't they pretty?" Nanako-chan asked. "Dad's going to be surprised."

"They're beautiful," said Souji, but he wasn't looking at the flowers.

Yosuke was proud of his self-control. He didn't blush at all. He did cough before speaking, though. "Ah, I saw them on sale at Junes, you know, so I thought, well, 'who's as pretty as a flower?' and went ahead and got them, heh heh."

"They're from Junes?" Nanako-chan turned to him with a look of wonder.

"Every day's great," he told her with a grin.

"Yeah!" She sang the jingle to him, dancing and waving her arms. She paused all of a sudden. "Oh! Yosuke-nii, can I put some of the flowers in my room?"

"Sure. Do you have something to put them in?"

Nanako-chan nodded and went into her room.

"I never knew you were so good with kids," Souji commented while she was gone.

Yosuke shrugged. "Nah, she's just easy to please. Kind of like you... Are you sure you're not really her brother?"

Souji batted him on the shoulder, and Yosuke pranced away. As he moved, though, something in the kitchen caught his eye.

The drawing that Yosuke had made of a cartoon bunny version of the three of them—Yosuke, Souji, and Nanako—standing around a half-made snowman was pinned to the refrigerator.

"Umm... Partner..." Yosuke said.

"Oh, yeah," Souji said, noticing the direction of his gaze. "Nanako-chan was doing the laundry when she found it in my pants pocket, and since she's in it, she wanted to hang it up."

Yosuke looked agitated.

"Don't worry, she didn't think anything of it," Souji assured him. "Rise and Chie are wrong. She doesn't know about us. In fact... Nanako-chan?" He called the girl into the kitchen.

She returned from her room, holding a cup. "Big bro?"

"Tell Yosuke what you said when you saw the drawing he made."

"Ugh, you didn't have to tell her that I drew it..." Yosuke muttered.

A wide smile grew on Nanako-chan's face. "We're going to make a snowman!?"

Souji patted her on the head. "Yep. Let's get you bundled up, okay?" Nanako-chan nodded, set the cup on the kitchen table, and excitedly went to get her winter jacket out from the closet in her room. "See, she's as pure as the driven snow."

"All right, all right. Maybe I do get worked up over nothing sometimes," Yosuke admitted. "But the girls were _positive_ that she knew about us..."

"You brought some gloves, right?" Souji asked. "If not, you can borrow uncle's pair, but they're kind of big."

"Hey, I came prepared, partner." Yosuke pulled out a pair of winter gloves from his pocket.

"I thought you might've forgot, what with the flowers. Irises, huh? They're very nice, by the way. Thank you."

Yosuke bit his cheek, determined not to blush in front of Souji's adoring gaze. "I would've got carnations, but they aren't in season."

"Irises are good, too," Souji said agreeably.

"They're for Nanako-chan," Yosuke muttered. "Remember that."

Nanako-chan returned and they helped her put on her bulky winter jacket. Souji placed a winter cap on her head that covered the tips of her ears. With the ensemble on, she looked like a pink and purple starfish that was reminiscent of one of Souji's Personas. Then, the three stepped outside and built a snowman together. Souji rolled the base, Yosuke the midsection, and Nanako-chan the head.

Turning the snowman into a snow bunny was more difficult than the boys initially thought. It turned out that snow ears were fragile when pointed straight up, so Yosuke ended up making it a floppy-eared rabbit instead. Then Souji brought out a carrot from the fridge and tied it to the twig they had used for one of its arms with some twine. Nanako-chan built the face using buttons from her room.

They stood back and admired the job well done. "Nanako-chan, what are you going to name it?" Yosuke asked her casually.

"I can name it!?" She seemed surprised.

"Of course," said Souji.

Her face wrinkled in thought. "Snow-chan!" she announced.

Yosuke laughed at the simplicity of it, and then told her it was a great name. She beamed at him.

Souji did too.

Work complete, they went back inside and helped Nanako-chan out of her layers of winter clothing, then gathered around the kitchen table. Nanako-chan asked Yosuke to put some of the flowers in the cup she had brought out earlier.

"Thank you again, Yosuke-nii!" Nanako-chan told him when he handed her the cup. "They're so pretty..."

Yosuke scratched the back of his head. "I told you, it's nothing. Livens up the place, you know?"

"Mmm," she said. "Oh! Big bro, do you have a pencil?"

Souji looked at her curiously. He slipped his hand into his jacket pocket and pulled out a partially-chewed up red pen. "Will this work?"

"Yeah!" She took it from him, and then went to the refrigerator and pulled down Yosuke's drawing. She brought it back to the table. "I just have to fix this," she explained. She uncapped the pen and looked at the drawing, concentration plain on her face.

"Oh, gonna finish drawing in Snow-chan?" Yosuke guessed.

Absorbed in thought, Nanako-chan didn't answer. She began to draw carefully on the paper. It didn't take her very long—when she was done, she triumphantly held it out to her big bro, who took it with an indulgent smile.

Yosuke saw the smile kind of freeze on his partner's face as he inspected the girl's changes to the drawing.

"Nanako-chan..." Souji said, sounding troubled.

Her smile was radiating sunshine. "Yosuke-nii and big bro bunny should be holding hands!" she declared.

Yosuke opened and closed his mouth several times. "Nanako-chan!" he squawked.

Nanako-chan looked at him with concern. "Is that wrong?" When he didn't answer, she looked at Souji, but he was staring at the table, biting his thumb, his cheeks turning as pink as some of the flowers on the table. "Big bro?"

The girl's expression saddened, and Yosuke sighed in defeat. "You're not wrong, Nanako-chan. In fact, you're absolutely right. We _should_ be holding hands." He darted out and grabbed Souji's hand and held it on the table. Souji drew in his breath sharply. His distressed look slowly morphed into a more relaxed grin as Yosuke entwined their fingers.

"Good!" Nanako-chan said, her bright smile returning.

"Uhh... How did you figure it out, Nanako-chan?" Yosuke asked.

"Big bro is really happy whenever you're around, Yosuke-nii. And you're the only one who really comes over to visit. And he talks about you the most!"

Souji's face was probably redder than Yosuke had ever seen it. "Is that so..." Yosuke murmured.

"Probably," Souji admitted.

"I won't tell," Nanako-chan promised. "Chie-chan and Rise-chan asked, but I didn't tell them!"

"Uh, thanks," Yosuke told her. "Especially don't tell your dad."

She nodded.

Souji let out his breath and visibly relaxed. Yosuke was somewhat amused that he seemed to be taking it better than his partner.

Well, it was quite a shock. So much for her being as pure as the driven snow, huh?

* * *

Souji sat at the kitchen table later that evening—Yosuke had not been able to stay the night—sipping at the hot coffee his uncle had poured for him. Nanako-chan had been put to bed already, and Dojima was sitting across from him, reading the newspaper. The scent of the irises on the table wafted over to him and mixed with the scent of coffee in a strange but pleasant way.

"So..." Dojima began conversationally from behind the wall of newspaper. "Why did Hanamura bring my daughter flowers?"

Souji almost spilled the coffee. The mug clanged against the table, he'd put it down so fast.

Dojima lowered the newspaper to look at him over its edge. "Is there something I should be aware of?" he continued.

Souji thought fast for an excuse that his uncle would buy and came up empty.

"My daughter isn't old enough to be receiving flowers from anybody."

"They're," Souji began. He cleared his throat. "They're for me. Not Nanako-chan."

Dojima grunted and went back to his newspaper.

They sat in silence for a while. "Uncle," Souji began.

"Souji. It's none of my business what you get up to with him—as long as you lock the door. And never do anything when Nanako's around. God forbid she walks in on you."

"Y-yes, uncle..."

Dojima eyed him over the newspaper. "I don't have to tell you about being safe, do I?"

"We're... not that far yet," Souji admitted. "But I know... about being safe." He stared into his coffee, his hand wrapped tightly around the mug, blushing furiously.

"Good." Dojima again went back to the newspaper, and silence returned, only broken by the rustle when he turned the pages.

"Please don't tell my parents," Souji blurted out.

Dojima dropped the newspaper so quickly onto the table that it made the flowers shed some petals. He gave Souji a very stern look, one he probably reserved for suspects at the station. "It's none of their damned business."

Souji might have loved his uncle more than Yosuke, if only for a moment. He rushed around the table and surprised the detective with a sudden hug. He hiccupped into his shirt, and Dojima awkwardly patted him on the back.

"You're a good kid, Souji," Dojima muttered in a _what the hell?_ sort of voice. He ruffled the boy's hair in what he probably hoped was an affectionate way.

Souji sniffled and thanked him over and over again.


End file.
